Risk Management: Disaster Recovery and Continuity of Operations Concepts

Disaster Recovery plan: Disaster recovery plan is also called as business continuity plan or business process continuity plan.

DRP: DRP stands for Disaster Recovery Planning should include information security, asset security, and financial security plans.

As part of disaster recovery, it is important to have a location from which the recovery of a failed site can take place. This location is known as a backup site. In the event of a disaster, your site is recreated at the specified backup site and made available. Once the failed site is recovered, the backup site will be reverted to its previous status.

There are three different types of backup sites:

1. Cold backup sites

2. Warm backup sites

3. Hot backup sites

1. Cold site: Here the bare minimums, such as space and furniture are available. Everything else need to be procured. The delay going to a fully operational site could be very large in this case

2. Warm site: Here, most of the hardware is in place, and probably you need to recover the site from off-site backup, and configure. The site could be restored in a reasonable amount of time.

3. Hot site: A facility designed to provide immediate availability in the event of a system or network failure. All the systems are appropriately configured and working. Only thing that is required is the restoration of latest backup.

Note that onsite backup is not a back up site.

Backup concepts: It is recommended to store the backup tapes in a secure, physically distant location. This would take care of unforeseen disasters like natural disasters, fire, or theft. It is also important that the backup tapes are regularly verified for proper recovery in a test server, even though recovery is not really required at that time. Otherwise, it may so happen that you find a backup tape corrupt when it is really required. The backup policy identifies the methods used to archive electronic and paper file systems. This policy works in conjunction with the information retention and storage policies.

A properly managed tape backups should include the following:

• Regular backups according to a pre-determined plan
• Verifying the backup tapes for integrity
• Labeling tapes properly for easy and unique identification
• Storing tapes securely at off-site location
• Destroying data on old tapes before disposing off the same

There are primarily three types of backups:

1. Full backup: Here all the data gets backed up. It usually involves huge amounts of data for large systems, and may take hours to complete. A full backup is preferred instead of incremental or differential backups where it is feasible. However, when there is large amount of data, full backup is done once in a while and incremental or differential backups are done in between. A backup plan is usually put in place prior to taking backup of data.

2. Differential backup: A differential backup includes all the data that has changed since last full backup. The "differential backup" that was taken earlier (after the "full backup" but before the current "differential backup") becomes redundant. This is because all changed data since last "full backup" gets backed up again.

3. Incremental backup: It includes all the data changed since last incremental backup. Note that for data restoration the full backup and all incremental backup tapes since last full backup are required. The archive bit is set after each incremental backup. Incremental backup is useful for backing up large amounts of data, as it backs up only the changes files since previous incremental backup.

How to install the Backup Exec 15 and above Agent for Windows (a.k.a. Remote Agent, AWS. RAWS)

 

Problem

This article provides instructions for installing the Backup Exec 15 and above Agent for Windows on a remote machine.

The Remote Agent for Windows Servers (RAWS) has been renamed to Agent for Windows (AWS) in Backup Exec 15 and above.

Error Message

UMI Code: V-225-285

Solution

Click on the desired method to see the installation instructions for the Agent for Windows Systems (AWS):

Automated (Push) Installation (to be performed from the Backup Exec 15 or above media server).

Local (manual) installation (to be performed on each remote machine).
In Backup Exec 15 and above, it is possible to install the Agent for Windows locally with a Graphical User Interface (GUI).

Silent (command line) installation (to be performed on each remote machine).
Command line scripts setupaa.cmd (OS 32-bit) and setupaax64.cmd (OS 64-bit) for a command line installation.

 

Automated (Push) Installation of Backup Exec 15 and above Agent for Windows

 

There are two methods to perform an Automated (Push) installation of the Agent for Windows:

From the Backup and Restore tab (recommended):

1. Open the Backup Exec 15 or above console - go to the Backup and Restore tab.
    
2. Select Add (from the ribbon menu) - select Microsoft Windows computer - click Next.
    
3. Select 'Allow Backup Exec to establish a trust with the servers.' - click Next.
    
4. Browse / Add a server name(s) - then click Next.
    
5. Select/Add a System logon account - click Next.
    
6. Select "Upgrade the Veritas Backup Exec Agent for windows to the current version automatically" (if Agent for Windows is not installed/up to date).
   
   Note: 'Restart the remote computer automatically after installing the Veritas Backup Exec Agent for Windows when a restart is required' should only be selected if down time has been planned or is not problematic for the target server(s).
    
7. Click Install to begin setup.
    
8. Click Finish to complete the installation..

 

By clicking on the Backup Exec button:

1. Open the Backup Exec 15 or above console on the media server.
    
2. Click on the round Backup Exec button which is located to the left of the Home tab.
    
3. Go to Installation and Licensing - select Install Agents and Backup Exec Servers on Other Servers.
    
4. On the Remote Computers section - select Add
   • Choose Add a Single Computer (if remote agent needs to be installed on only one machine).
     
     OR
      
   • Choose Add Multiple Computers with the Same Settings (to select multiple servers for remote agent installation).
     
     Note: The box Save the server list for future remote install sessions enables the names of all of the remote computers and their credentials to be added automatically the next time Backup Exec or any of its options need to be installed to these remote computers.
      
5. On the Select the Remote Product screen - select Agent for Windows and click Next.
    
6. On the Add Single Computer / Choose Remote Computers screen:
   1. When selecting Add a Single Computer:
      1. Enter the Remote Computer name / select Browse Remote Computers to select a remote machine.
          
      2. Enter the Remote computer credentials (type the user name and password of an account that has administrative rights on the server).
          
      3. Click Next.
      
      OR
       
   2. When Selecting Add Multiple Computers with the Same Settings
      1. Enter the Remote computer name / Browse to select a remote computer - click on Add to List
         
         NOTE: Repeat the above steps to select multiple servers for remote agent installation.
          
      2. Enter the Remote Install Credentials (type the user name and password of the account that has administrative rights on the servers).
          
      3. Click Next.
          
7. The destination location for Remote Agent install files can be changed under the Destination Folder section if required.
    
8. On the Remote Agent Publishing screen:
   1. Check the box which says 'Enable remote agent to publish the IP address and name of the remote computer and the version of the Remote Agent to media server'.
       
   2. Click Add and enter the Media Server name or IP address (or both) and press OK.
       
   3. Click Next.
       
9. Click Next when the screen shows Ready to install the Agent for Windows beside the server name(s).
    
10. Click Install to begin the installation.
     
11. Wait for the installation to complete and click Finish.
     
12. An SSL trust relationship will need to be established after a manual installation of the Agent for Windows. This is explained in the following article:
    
    How to establish trust for remote servers in Backup Exec 15 and above

 

 

Local (manual) installation using the GUI method

 

When automated (push) installation of the AWS fails it may be necessary to perform a local installation.
Listed below are two methods to perform a Local (manual) installation of Agent for Windows:

Using the RAWS32/RAWSX64 folder located on Backup Exec 15 and above media server (recommended):

1. Copy the Agents folder which includes the "RAWS32 or RAWSX64", DotNetFx, VCRedist, and MSXML (if it exists) folders, from the Media Server to a drive on a remote computer.
   
   NOTE: The default path for the above mentioned folder is 'X:\Program Files\Symantec\Backup Exec\Agents'  or 'X:\Program Files\Veritas\Backup Exec\Agents" ('X' is the drive letter where Backup Exec is installed.)
   
   For Remote Agent installation on:
   • 32-bit system: Use the RAWS32 folder.
   • 64-bit system: Use the RAWSX64 folder.
      
2. Go to the remote computer and open the RAWS32 or RAWSX64 directory which was copied from the media server.
    
3. Double-click on Setup.exe.
   
   Note: Turn off User Access Control (UAC) for Windows 2008, Vista or 7.
   It is also recommended to right-click on the Setup.exe file and select 'Run as Administrator' to avoid any access issues during the installation process.
    
4. Click Next on the Welcome screen.
    
5. Select Local Install and click Next.
    
6. Select 'Agent for Windows' - click Next.
   
   Note: The destination location for the Remote Agent install files can be changed if desired by clicking on the 'Change' button.
    
7. On the Remote Agent publishing screen:
   1. Check the box which says 'Enable remote agent to publish the IP address and name of the remote computer and the version of the Remote Agent to media server'.
       
   2. Click Add and enter the Media Server name or IP address (or both) and press OK.
       
   3. Click Next.
       
8. Click Install to begin the installation.
    
9. Wait for the Installation to complete and click Finish.
    
10. An SSL trust will need to be established after a manual installation of Agent for Windows. This is explained in the article below:
    
    How to establish trust for remote servers in Backup Exec 15 and above

 

Silent (command line) Installation

1. Copy the Agents folder from the Backup Exec media server's installation folder (by default located in C:\Program Files\Symantec\Backup Exec\Agents on the media server or C:/Program Files/Veritas/Backup Exec/Agents) to the root of the C: drive on the remote server.  Verify it contains the folders "RAWS32 or RAWSX64", DotNetFx, VCRedist, and MSXML (if it exists).  To perform the steps below, you will be using these following folders:
   • RAWS32: For a 32-bit (x86) Windows System.
   • RAWSX64: For a 64-bit Windows System.
2. On the remote server, go to the command prompt (click Start - Run - cmd):
   1. Browse to the RAWS folder which was copied on the local drive using DOS commands.
       
   2. In the command prompt window type setupaa.cmd (for 32-bit OS) or setupaax64.cmd (for 64-bit OS) and press enter to install Agent for Windows.
      
      Note: Installation of AOFO is no longer required. If the operating system is Windows Server 2003 or above, it will use the Microsoft VSS provider for the Advanced Open File Option.
   OR

2. On the remote server, open the RAWS folder which was copied on the local drive:
   1. Double-click on setupaa.cmd (for 32-bit OS) or setupaax64.cmd (for 64-bit OS) to install Agent for Windows.
      
      Note: On Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista or Windows 7, right-click on Setupaa.cmd and select Run as administrator.
      
      Installation of AOFO is no longer required. If the operating system is Windows Server 2003 or above, it will use the Microsoft VSS provider for the Advanced Option File Option.
       
   2. The command prompt will appear blank for a period between a few seconds and a couple of minutes while the remote agent installs.
       
   3. Once completed, the command prompt cursor will appear awaiting further input.
      1. To check if the Agent for Windows was installed: Go to the Windows services console (Start - Run - Services.msc), and see if the Backup Exec Remote Agent for Windows service is present and started.
          
      2. An SSL trust will need to be established after a manual installation of the Agent for Windows. This is explained in the article below:
         
         How to establish trust for remote servers in Backup Exec 15 and above

Backing up Hyper-V virtual machines from the command line

The tool you will want to use is “wbadmin.exe”
Backing up a virtual machine is fairly straight forward.  Your command will look like this:

wbadmin start backup –backupTarget: –hyperv:

Which will result in something like this:

Some things to be aware of:

• Wbadmin will always warn you that the virtual machine will be put into a saved state for backup.  This is wrong.  The virtual machine will only be put into a saved state if it is not running the latest virtual machine additions (or is not a Windows virtual machine).
• You will be prompted before the backup starts.  You can get around this by adding –force to the end of the command.
• You can use either the virtual machine name or the virtual machine ID when selecting virtual machines.
• You can list multiple virtual machines to backup.
• If you are backing up to a SMB share – new backups will automatically overwrite old backups (i.e. there will only be one backup kept on the share).  This will not happen if you are backing up to a local disk.

Once you have created the backup – you then need to know how to restore it.  This is, unfortunately, more complicated.  The first thing you will need to do is to find the version of the backup and the name of the virtual machine you want to restor.  You can find the version of the backup by running:
wbadmin get versions –backupTarget:


If the backup was taken a while ago – you may have forgotten the name(s) of the virtual machines that you backed up.  You can find this by running:
wbadmin get items –version: –backuptarget:


Once you have this information you can restore the backed up virtual machine by running:
wbadmin start recover –version: –itemType:hyperv –items: –backuptarget: